Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-01-26
A DOMESTIC TRAGEDY.
THRRORRIBLR ENDING OF AN ILL STARRED
MARRIAGE
A Pretty Girl Deserved Into Welded Poverty BY an
Old Man, Helps II is Thought TO Murder and
Rob Her Husband, and Skips to England
With a Married ParamOur.

Rob Her Husband, and SAps 10 England
With Married ParamOur.
BINGHAMPToN, n. Y, January 25.-
Three or four yeas ago farmer aged Gu
years named Abijah Brent, and living near
the Pennsylvania border below this city,
was married to Martha Pennell, who was
not then not 20 years old. Itwas supposed
by the young woman and the people OF
this locality generally that Brent was pos
sessed of considerable money.
But his wife learned soon after
the marriage that he was not worth dol
lar his property being heavily mortgaged.
The marriage was not followed by domestic
happiness. Mrs. Brent was one of the
prettiest girls in the community where she
lived. Her parents were poor. Brent and
his young wife did not separate notwith.
standing the infelicity Of their married life.
Two years ago the old mans farm was
sold under foreclosure proceeding and soon
afterward he and his wife moved to In
diana where it seems he succeeded in pur-
chasing q small farm on which was a valu-
able tract of walnut timber, three miles
from the small village of Cristyille. Fol-
year past nothing had been heard of
Brent an his young wife by any of their
old Pennsylvania neighbors. Three weeks
ago Mrs. Brent
APPEARED AT HER FORMER HOME.
She was elegantly dressed and accompanied
by fine looking man who was introduced
by her rs her husband, George Tyler. She
said that Brent had died nearly year be-
fore, and that she had married n second
time and was then on her wedding tour,
which was to include trip to Europe, her
husband being man of means. The cou-
pie remained at the wOman's fathers
three days, and then took their departure
and nothing has been heard from them
since. The news of Abijah Brent's death
and the return of his widow with a rich
husband was announced in n local paper
week before last. Charles Rogers acousin
of Brent, who is travelling salesman for 4
New York house, and lives in that city,
happened to he in neighboring village
and read the announcement of Brents
death in the paper.
He went at once to his cousins old home
and there produced letter which he had
received from Brent and which had been
written and mailed only day before last
Christmas. Rogers went to Indiana vii
lage and, according to letter received
from him by friend in Susquehanna coun'
ty, found strongly complicated and mys'
terious case. For year or more past Mrs,
Brent's relations with prominent citizen
of Christville of the name OF Coverdale had
been source of great scandal in the com
munity. Coverdale was merchant and
had an invalid wife and five children. lie
and Mrs. Brent were much together. Be
fore the holidays lie began to sell out good,
in his store by auction and added nothing
to his stock. The day following New
| Years the store was not opened and Cover
dale was not seen in town. Nothing cOnl,
he learned of his whereabouts. Brent
farm was
IMAM UNPRECEDENTED ROAD,
and his nearest neighbor lived two mile
away. Between Christmas and New
Years he had sold his walnut timber 70
nearly $4O0, and received the money. 4
friend of his, who was at his house the da.
before New Years, says that the money
was in bureau drawer on that day IL
Brent's room.
Two or three days after the strange dis
appearance of Coverdale, resident OF
Cristville, drove out to Brent's farm to SEE
the old man about the purchase ofa house
The house was locked and the whole plac,
had deserted appearance. A horse ant
cow in the barn showed plainly that they
had not been fed for severa
days, Feeling that something was wrong
and broke into the house. Everything
was in order. Brcnts clothing was in hi:
bedroom, but not trace of him could
be found anywhere about the prem
ises. The bureau drawer, where Brent'S
| friend declares $400 was on the Friday be
| fore, was open and the money was gone
| 1t was evident that the house had been
without occupants for some time. That
COverdale and Mrs. Brent had elOped NJ
one doubted, but they had executed plans
so cleverly that not the slightest clue
could be found that would give any indica
tion as to the direction they had taken. II
was believed that they had put the wo
mans husband out of the way, and taker
his money with them, but why the old
mans death was necessary to the success
of the plans of the runaways could not bC
made clear A week after the discoveries
made at Brent's from the unusual sight al
this time of year Of flock of crows hover
| ing above u piece of woods on n faCm two
miles from Brent's was noticed by boy
named Willie CrOmptOn. He went out
with his gun to shoot at the crows, which
seemed to gather in one particular spot and
cav in a curious manner. The crows flew
further away rs the boy entered the wood:
and as he followed them mp he came sud
denly upon the dead body of
A MAN HANGING BY THE NECK
from the lower branch Of big walnut
tree. The boy hurried from the woods and
alarmed the men on the farm They went
TO the tree and recognized the body rs thai
of the missing farmer Brent. A Justice oI
the Peace was summoned and the body wa;
cut down and an inquest held. The dead
mans head was bare and his feet were coy
cred by an old pair of shoes but no stock
ings. In a pocket Of an old farm coa'
which the dead man had On was found a
piece of paper on which was written: 81
can't stand the disgrace" The writing
closely resembled that of the dead man, and
the general impression seemed to be thai
the old man had hanged himself on discov'
ering his wife's guilty fight and robbery
Of all he had in the world There were ne
marks of violence on the body, but DR.
Ford. who made post mortem eXamina'
tion, gave it as his opinion that death
had not resulted from hanging, but that
the man was dead when hanged TO the
tree In spite of that testimony, however,
the Jury returned q verdict Of suicide, and
as no one seemed disposed to make further
investigation in the mysterious case the
body was buried under the tree where il
was discovered. Brent's cousin, Rogers
accepts the suicide theory, as he could see
no motive in Brent's wife or Coverdalt
committing murder to either rob or rur
away from Brent. Coverdale is an Eng
| lishman and he had between e. 600 and